The splendid alabaster tomb of Sir William Bardolph (d.1441) and his wife in the parclose chapel at the east end of the south aisle.
Last but not least, the final church of the day and a good one to finish on, the last of my itinerary’s ‘big three’ which I simply had to see on this trip (all the more so having finished another excursion here only two days earlier but arriving far too late to see inside, a mistake I was keen to avoid repeating!).
St Mary’s at Dennington is one of those churches you read about and see details of in books long before planning a visit so the churchcrawler generally approaches here with a greater degree of anticipation. It is a grand building with an impressive length and width for a village church, its west tower fairly plain but given a more muscular appearance by its slightly over-emphasised corner buttresses (with a stair turret on the north side(. It appears to be a mainly late 14th century structure but its stylistic unity and generous size are not the main reason for its fame, that becsomes clearer once one steps inside via the handsome north porch.
Within the church feels somewhat sprawling, and fairly well lit owing to mostly plain-glazed windows which also means there isn’t a lot of colour in here apart from the muted pale tones of the walls above and the rich dark browns of the woodwork below, and it is this Aladdin’s cave of carved wooden furnishings which gives Dennington such renown. The first features to catch the eye upon entering are the carved pews, many Suffolk churches have bench ends like these with traceried panels on their fronts and fanciful animals serving as armrests and this is a particularly rich set. Sadly some of the animals have been damaged, but plenty can still be enjoyed. The most famous character here however is carved in relief on one of the benches on the south side of the nave, the figure of a mythical Sciapod sheltering under his enormous foot.
Towards the eastern end of the nave the carved pews give way to Post-Reformation box-pews (a few of which incorporate their medieval predecessors) and then two rich parclose screens that dominate the end of both side aisles, a rare survival in any form but here all the more significant for retaining their original lofts with rich cresting at full height. Originally these would have been joined across the nave by the rood screen, but only the lowest level of this now survives (and I almost missed it altogether being concealed within the box pews). The parclose chapel on the south side contains the magnificent mid 15th century alabaster tomb of Sir William Bardolph and his wife, their effigies resplendent with much of their original colouring.
The chancel beyond looks a little more sober by comparison but is enriched by a few good elements of its original 14th century glazing in the traceries and heads of certain windows. Above the altar hangs the rare wooden pyx, a spire-like tabernacle to hold the sacrament. Frustratingly I didn’t get a good shot of this, a bit of a hazard in a church with so many good features to enjoy.
Dennington church is one that needs to be experienced, especially for those with a fondness for medieval and later woodwork. In normal times it is usually kept open and welcoming to visitors and really deserves more of them. For more see its entry on the Suffolk Churches site below:-
www.suffolkchurches.co.uk/Dennington.htm
